COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Chance Gray scored 14 of her career-high 31 points in the third quarter and she tied a program-best with nine 3-pointers to help No. 12 Ohio State beat Charlotte 94-53 on Tuesday night.
Gray finished 9 of 14 from 3-point range to top her previous best of six makes. She tied Kelsey Mitchell’s record of nine 3-pointers set on Jan. 15, 2015.
Gray scored 11 points in the first half after making all three of her 3-pointers to help Ohio State build a 43-17 lead. Charlotte was just 5 of 24 from the field (21%), including 10 straight misses spanning the first-quarter break to trail 31-8.
Charlotte scored nine straight points early in the third quarter to get within 19 points. But Gray made four 3-pointers in the final 5:10 of the third quarter, capped by a wide-open shot in transition in the closing seconds to extend Ohio State’s lead to 26 points. Gray also opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with her eighth 3-pointer.
Ajae Petty added 12 points and Cotie McMahon scored 11 for Ohio State (2-0).
Alexis Andrews scored 15 points for Charlotte (1-2), which was coming off a 60-41 loss to Wake Forest on Thursday.
It was the second straight game with a 31-point scorer for Ohio State, which opened the season with a 104-69 win over Cleveland State last week. Jaloni Cambridge opened her collegiate career with 31 points, six assists, six rebounds, five steals and two blocks in that game. Cambridge was knocked hard to the ground against Charlotte and was limited to 15 minutes.
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